«The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball» by David Ross,Scott Lauder

Sara Livingstone's school trip to the Beijing Palace Museum takes a terrifying turn when an encounter with the ancient Qingming Scroll thrusts her a thousand years into China's past.

With secrets in the shadows and danger around every corner, Sara relies on her wits and her Granny Tang's stories to survive. As dark forces gather, she must take her place in a cosmic battle and find the courage to face an unworldly ancient magic.

"Middle grader to young adults seeking a vibrant blend of fantasy and thriller receive the right combination of action, Chinese cultural insights, and imagination in The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball, which tells of Sara's dangerous confrontation with ancient forces.

Her visit to the Beijing Palace Museum sets the stage for cascading events that carry her from present-day China to encounters from the past as a thousand-year-old scroll leads her to perils and challenges and a task by ancient Immortals, who designate her the first of three 'hares' on a mission of vital importance.

Scott Lauder and David Ross excel in creating atmospheric descriptions of place and people to bring this story to life: "The swaying camel lumbered to a stop. Shan Wu looked up to see a great many camels amassed in the narrow road, waiting. Across the tawny, shimmering desert plain, the towers of a large city rose like fingers amidst the palm trees that filled the oasis. It was late afternoon. The day's fierce heat had mellowed, the shadows were slowly lengthening and deepening, and the sun's rays were growing more slanted and yellow."

As Shan Wu and Sara stumble into quests involving dragons, lions (delete), powerful elixirs, mercurial mountains (add back) and different peoples, Sara finds that Shan Wu's influence holds the power to endanger her life wherever she is in her world. Sara is facing powers she'd never imagined, and is entering into a war she never wanted.

Action is fast-paced, cross-cultural encounters are realistic and nicely drawn, and The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball holds the added attraction of making a potentially complex story line a compelling investigation of other cultures. Sara's quest to find the other two Hares to bring these mysterious forces to life makes for a vivid, engrossing read that nicely sets the stage for more.

Middle grade to young adult readers seeking a quest fantasy that is a serious notch above other genre reads will appreciate the depth, insights, action, and surprising twists and turns that make The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball a standout production." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review